Pol Espargaro, Maverick Vinales Fastest On Day Three Of FIM Moto2/Moto3 Testing At Valencia

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Nicolas Terol (18).

FIM Moto2 and Moto3 World Championship TestValencia, SpainFebruary 14, 2013Day Three Best Times (all on Dunlop tires):

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 Factory Team came away from the first official Moto3 tests in Valencia, Spain well satisfied with their performance and that of the new 2013 KTM Moto3 bike.

Team manager Aki Ajo who also had his riders at the Almeria circuit in Spain last week for private tests and what he described as the team roll out said he was pleased with his three riders in the three days of tests just concluded.

â€œI am very happy with the first tests and Iâ€™m really impressed with the bike,â€ Ajo said. â€œOur lap times were not the main thing. We were here to try many different things, to find the right direction and to get a feeling for the new bike. Already we have the impression that it is much improved on the 2012 bike.â€

Ajo said he was pleased with the performance of his three riders. Luis Salom, who has replaced Sandro Cortese, Moto3 World Champion in 2012 in the team, put in fast lap times on all three days. Zulfahmi Khairuddin of Malaysia was both fast and consistent and Ajo also said he was positively surprised by the good performances of his junior team member, Australiaâ€™s Arthus Sissis.

Apart from the official factory team, riders on other KTM-driven bikes were also impressive on the Valencia circuit. Overall fastest over the three days was Spanish talent Maverick Vinales who clocked a lap time of 1.39.299 on Day Three in the second session. Alex Rins of Spain was second fastest at 1.39.585 with Salom third overall fastest with 1.39.669.

Ajoâ€™s son, Niklas Ajo, who this year rides a KTM for the Avant Tecno Team did well to be on the bike completing all three days of tests despite very recent surgery following a skiing accident. Ajo said Niklas was not expected to be on the bike for several months but had toughed it out despite still being in pain from his injury.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo Factory Team is now working at full speed to prepare for the next tests in Jerez next week.

ASPAR Team ends Moto2 test on a high with Terol second fastest and team-mate Torres fourth

The final day of a three day test at Valencia proved to be the best in terms of the conditions, with spring temperatures and no sign of the winds that had dogged the previous two days. In the Moto2 class the lap times tumbled inside record pace with Nico Terol and Pol EspargarÃ³ taking their personal duel under the 1'35 mark, where they were joined by JuliÃ¡n SimÃ³n. Track action ceased at 5pm today, with the riders due to resume testing duties at Jerez next Tuesday.

ASPAR Team rider Terol could barely contain his delight after a being amongst the pacesetters throughout the test, improving his feeling with the new Suter 2013 and dropping his best lap time to a sensational 1'34.777 today - four tenths inside the best Moto2 lap at Cheste and a second quicker than his fastest effort yesterday. On the other side of the garage Jordi Torres made equally impressive progress, shaving 1.2 seconds off his best time from yesterday to clock a 1'35.084 and finish the test fourth fastest overall.

2nd Nico Terol 1.34.777 (53 laps): "We spent all day working with the new bike today and my feeling with it is very positive. I felt comfortable from the first lap and the lap times have been good. The difference to the old bike is not huge, it is just a little stiffer and gives the more rider improved feel and more confidence. We'll keep working at Jerez to get a bit more stability from the front end but other than that we are where we should be and now we just need to find a bit of race pace, with some longer runs on used rubber, because the start of the season is around the corner. Moto2 is always crazy but to start the preseason so strongly is great. I did a few laps in the 1'34s today, which was my objective so I am satisfied with that. The team have taken a big step forward, with my team-mate Jordi also performing to a high level. The potential of the Aspar Team this season is clear and we need to keep going like this."

4th Jordi Torres 1.35.084 (60 laps): "We continued to work on the new chassis today after trying lots of different things over the past two days. During the exclusive Moto2 session today we found our best setting and decided to push for a few laps to see what we were capable of. The lap times were great and so was the feeling with the bike. We kept pushing right to the end and found a way to smooth out the front end, which helped us deal with a few of the bumps in corner entry. The focus today was to try some different geometry settings to get the bike turning better. The conditions were better and that allowed us to go much faster. The overall feeling from the last three days is great and I was looking forward to it after a long winter. I love the new bike, the lap times are good and I don't think we could ask for much more than that at this stage. We are moving in the right direction."

The 2013 preseason pace stepped up a notch in the Moto3 class today at Valencia, where the lap times were some two seconds quicker than at the final Grand Prix of the 2012 season here in November. Perfect conditions certainly helped as Spanish trio Maverick ViÃ±ales, Luis Salom and Alex Rins signed off on top, with Germany's Jonas Folger and Scotland's John McPhee in close attendance.

After shaking off the winter rust on day one and trying out his new bike on day two, today was the time to find out what 2013 might hold for Folger. The MAPFRE ASPAR completed a marathon 81 laps, knocking a massive 1.5 seconds off his best time from yesterday as he rode right up to the red light at 5pm. Tired but satisfied with his effort, Jonas finished fifth fastest overall and some seven tenths off the best time of the day. MAPFRE Aspar team rookie Eric Granado was also busy, the Brazilian clocking 82 laps and also improving by more than a second.

5th Jonas Folger 1.40.050 (81 laps): "We did a lot of laps today and even though I am exhausted now it has been good because we have been able to test a lot of things. The bike is new so the more laps we can do to adapt to it the better. We tried lots of things with the set-up and were able to rule various solutions out, so even though we have a lot of work to do we know which way we need to go. It has been a very positive test, we're really happy with the way it has gone and we can't wait to get back to work again at Jerez next week. The difference with the new bike is not huge but it handles sweeter, it's more stable and that makes it easier to ride. The new clutch is awesome and the engine has a lot of power from the bottom up. We have improved by 1.5 seconds since yesterday after taking some big steps with the set-up and my riding. The potential of the bike is clear, we just have to keep working to make the most of it."

27th Eric Granado 1.41.526 (82 laps): "We have done a lot of laps today which is a positive thing for me because I need to adapt to the bike and to the category. I need to learn and there is no better way to do that than by completing laps. We spent the morning finding some new things out about the bike, working with the geometry and the front and rear suspension. We did some longer runs this afternoon, around ten laps at a time, and I managed to get a consistent rhythm together and learn some things from other riders. The objective is to learn and improve every time we're on track and I think we're doing that. We leave Valencia feeling satisfied because we've improved every day. It's only the first test and there's a long way to go so we have to take it step by step."

Conditions for the final day of testing were almost perfect, with the unpredictable wind and cold conditions of the first two days replaced by clear blue skies and warmer track temperatures.

Redding ended the test, the first of the new season for the Marc VDS Racing team, seventh fastest on combined times, having adapted quickly to the characteristics of the 2013 Kalex chassis.

Kallio was also satisfied with the progress made during the test, his first with the bike fitted with the additional weight required to meet the new regulations this season. The 30-year-old Finn ended the test 13th on the timesheet, but is confident that his position will improve next week in Jerez.

After struggling with set-up and gusting winds on the opening two days, Loi took advantage of today's better conditions to improve his lap time by almost two seconds, ending his first test as a Moto3 rider inside the top fifteen.

Scott Redding #45: 7th - 1'35.293"We've had a steady test, working to get a good feeling with the new bike rather than pushing for fast lap times. The important thing for me is that we have a good understanding of how the 2013 Kalex compares to last year's version; where it's stronger and how it reacts to set-up changes. Next week we'll try to make a few more improvements, before working to close the gap to the top of the timesheet."

Mika Kallio #36: 13th - 1'35.769"We missed about 0.3s at this test compared to the race here at Valencia in November. It could be the tyres, which was also a problem during the race weekend, but we will be able to confirm this next week at Jerez. I'm happy enough, but it's not until next week that we'll really be able to see where we are with respect to the other riders. Valencia is a strange circuit and one that isn't really suited to testing. It's been good to get back out on the bike, but the real work starts next week."

Livio Loi #11: 14th - 1'40.750"The first two days were a bit of a struggle, as it was windy and we didn't find a good set-up on the bike. Today we switched fork settings and the bike was transformed. I managed to match my lap time from the CEV race at Valencia in the first session and continued to improve throughout the day. With more time I'm confident I could have gone faster, but I'm happy with where I finished today. Now I'm looking forward to next week at Jerez."

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal"This first test has been a good start to the new season for all three riders. Scott started where he left off last year and was immediately on the pace, while Mika adapted quickly to the additional weight he has on the bike for this season. Livio has learnt a lot these three days, both on track and off. He struggled with set-up issues the first two days but I'm happy to say, managed to work with his crew to make a big improvement ready for today. To finish his first test 14th overall is a good start to his Grand Prix career, but there's still a lot of work left to do before he gets his season underway at Jerez in May. Now we must continue to improve during next week's test at Jerez."

More, from a press release issued by NGM Mobile Forward Racing:

The 2013 Moto2 season kick-off at Valencia

The NGM Forward Racing Team has completed the three day testing at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia for the first 2013 Moto2 test of the season. The riders: Simone Corsi, Alex De Angelis, Mattia Pasini and Ricky CardÃºs have all had a very good first impression with the Speed Up.

The test concludes with all four riders providing valuable feedback that assist in the refining of bike setups as well as assimilating feelings from the Speed Up. It has been a highly demanding test, which given the optimal weather conditions, has allowed the riders to perform many laps and make considerable progress.

NGM Mobile Racing team has certainly accomplished its job for this first test and will continue their work at Jerez de La Frontera circuit, where the next Moto2 test will take place in just a few days from the 19th to the 21st of February.

Simone Corsi - 3â€œIâ€™m really happy about how we started these three days of testing. Weâ€™ve worked hard with the team for try to understand which is our situation and where we have to intervene. Letâ€™s see at Jerez what is our true potential, sure we have to work, but I know we will do large stepsâ€.

Alex De Angelis â€“ 15"We used the first day just to get familiarized with the bike, while on the following days we wanted to do as many laps as possible to find more feeling with the front of the bike, since it has been the once things that we have had trouble with. We tested different configurations but we have yet to find the one that give me the confidence to push.â€

Mattia Pasini â€“ 54â€œIâ€™m really happy about how we started these three days of testing. Weâ€™ve worked hard with the team to try to understand which is our situation and where we have to improve. We will see at Jerez what our true potential is, we know we still have work to do but we also know that we have the potential to do perform wellâ€.

Ricky CardÃºs - 88â€œWe have been able to take good advantage of these three days of testing. We didnâ€™t focus on the laps-time, our goal was to adapt to the bike and understand what is good for us and what isnâ€™t. We wanted to do as many laps as possible and improve as much as possible during these three days. Hope to continue to improve at Jerez.â€

More, from a press release issued by Blusens Avintia Racing:

Toni ElÃ­as ends with good feeling the official Moto2 test held in Valencia

Rookie Kyle Smith adapts to the World Championship pace in his first official test this season

Cheste, 14 February 2013. Toni ElÃ­as and Kyle Smith, the new Blusens Avintia Moto2 riders for this year 2013, have completed three days of tests held at the Ricardo Tormo circuit, fulfilling the planned work programme for the season that will start next April in Qatar. The three days were very productive for the team, which returns "to work on track" after the break of the past months, and were to make progress in the set-up of the bikes and to strengthen the relationship between technicians, mechanics and riders, especially among those who join the team this year. The first World Champion of the Moto2 category, Toni ElÃ­as, carried out many trials in search of optimum setting up and, above all, to find the best riding position to be comfortable and to be able to ride at 100%. Toni made good lap times that get him close to the top ten, although the aim in these first practices was to find a good way to start rather than the lap time. Meanwhile, his teammate Kyle Smith, who debuts this year in the Championship, made the most of these days to adapt to the new category â€“he comes from competing with the thousand-, to his new bike, his team and the World Championship pace. Kyle was physically diminished during the first two days due to fever and physical discomfort. Despite this, his progression was good and, although he crashed twice during these days, Smithâ€™s adaptation to the new category can be assessed very positively.

Next week they will continue testing at the Jerez circuit, where Blusens Avintia team will continue with pre-season work.

Toni ElÃ­as: â€œWe arenâ€™t as fast as we would like to be but we have worked well and we have improved almost six tenths per day. It has been three days of constant work and at the next practices we will continue this way. Many of the riders who have been ahead had few new things to try, because they continue on the same team and with the same bikes or, in any case, they have already had the opportunity of testing updates before. We have used these days to discover the new bike and adapt it to my liking. I donâ€™t ride as comfortable as I would like to but we still have many tests ahead and we have time. The team has worked very well and that gives me a lot of confidence. Now it is time to work, and when the moment arrives, we will be prepared.â€

Kyle Smith: â€œI'm happy with the test although I am aware that I have much to improve. The evolution has been positive and we have clearly advanced, but it has been a complicated test. I have been physically diminished with fever and during the first two days we were working hard on the bike and couldnâ€™t ride as much as we wanted. Today we have managed to find a setting up that have allowed me to drop the lap time and to improve. I am positive to the Jerez test because the team has worked wonderfully and I have progressed little by little. We must bear in mind that I come from a category in which the bike is ridden different and I have to adapt. I must confess that I thought the adaptation to this category and this bike would be a little easier, but in Moto2 level is very high and we must have patience.â€